She glanced at his fingers and then up at him.
He raised his hand. “Sorry for being friendly.”
“We’ve had this conversation before, and I appreciate your generosity when it comes to my dad, but you and I are over and have been for a long time.”
“I don’t believe that and if you—”
“Here you go,” Boone said as he stepped from the kitchen and placed a large take-out bag on the counter. “I’d like to personally thank you for your service, so this one is on the house.”
Steven nodded. “Thanks. I appreciate that.”
“Stay safe out there,” Boone said.
She took her glass and swirled it, letting the ice cubes clink. She didn’t dare look over her shoulder in fear Steven would take the glance as an encouraging sign.
“I heard through the grapevine you and him were an item for like a year,” Boone said with a smirk.
She cocked her head and pursed her lips. “We all make mistakes. I’m sure you have a Steven in your past.”
Boone laughed. “Mine is worse.”
“Do tell.”
“I’d have to be three sheets to the wind to tell anyone that story,” he said. “And your father has tried to get me drunk more than once, but my lips are sealed.”
“What if I not only got you drunk, but I flashed the girls.”
He arched a brow. “That might make me a little loose-lipped, but it would also make me tongue-tied.”
“You’re funny,” she said.
Someone at the other end of the bar waved.
“Let me take care of my other customer, put your order in, and I’ll be back in a flash.” Boone had a soft spot for her dad, and she’d be forever grateful to him for that, but he barely noticed her as a woman. Sure, he all but put her name on this bar stool every night, and on the nights she came in for her one drink, he gave her as much attention as he could, but she had it on good authority that he gave all his regular customers this kind of special treatment. So really, she wasn’t anything to write home about. Just another girl who padded his cash register while she depleted her own.
If she didn’t need to release a little smoke before spending the evening with her dad, she wouldn’t spend the money.
Not that it was all that much, but the pennies were adding up, and if she was going to get her father out from under this mess, she was going to need every cent, starting with moving back home.
That conversation wasn’t going to go over well with the old man. He liked his independence, his space, but more importantly, he liked that his little girl was making it on her own. She was somehow going to come up with some excuse for needing to sell her cabin.
“You look deep in thought,” Boone said as he magically reappeared. He leaned across the counter, tossing a towel over his shoulder. “You must be thinking of me.” He winked.
“Yeah. That’s it.” She raised her drink and took a long draw. Her lids lowered as the liquid tickled her taste buds. “I sure needed this.”
“Tough day on the ranch?”
The closest person she had to a good friend would be Annette, or maybe Cheyenne, but she couldn’t confide in either one about her problems. Besides Annette being her direct supervisor, both women were married to one of the Whiskey siblings, and they signed Paget’s paycheck. She didn’t want them to know her business, but she also knew how generous her bosses were, and she didn’t want a handout. That would piss off her father even more.
If he ever found out.
And she’d need to make sure he never did.
“Nothing out of the ordinary, but with Annette and Georgia Moon pregnant, I end up having to do a lot of the heavy lifting. I don’t mind. It gives me the opportunity to show them what I’m made of, but still, I’m sure I’ll sleep well tonight.”
“What you need is a good rubdown. Too bad I’m not available until after two in the morning. But we can work something out over the weekend.”
“Are we adding massage therapist to your resume of bartender and restaurant owner?” she asked, batting her eyes. Their flirting had become increasing playful and flipped her stomach upside down and twisted it like a wet rag.
But she bet he did this with all the ladies.
It was just smart business.
“Only for you, babe.” He held up his finger as he went about refreshing everyone else at the bar and chatted with one of his other bartenders who must have just clocked in. It gave her a few moments to enjoy his backside.
He wore a pair of black jeans that hung low on his hips. Tucked into his pants was his signature Boone’s Bar and Grill black T-shirt with the restaurant’s logo printed on the back. He had long, lean muscles, which she much preferred over bulky and pumped. Too many cowboys went for the beefcake look.
Her phone buzzed. She glanced at the screen. Another news update. She lifted it to her face for recognition, and checked the headlines. She shook her head, scanning the article regarding the latest ruthless business dealings of Rylee White. All that woman cared about was money, and she didn’t care who she hurt, or who died, using her products.
The worst part was there was nothing anyone could do to stop Rylee or her company. She had money and lawyers and people in high places in her back pocket. Besides, the attorney that had tried to take Rylee and her company to task couldn’t prove her supplement had caused Paget’s mother’s heart attack and death. Paget wanted to scream from the rooftop that Rylee and her company had killed her mother, but it upset her father to discuss it.
No evidence had been found, and every person who died had an underlying heart condition.
Including her mother.
“What’s wrong?” Boone asked.
“Just annoying Facebook posts from idiots.” She set her cell screen down and finished her drink just as a busboy came out from the kitchen carrying a to-go bag.
The young man handed it to Boone.
“Looks like our time together tonight is over,” Boone said, pursing his lips like a little kid who was just told he couldn’t have dessert. “Why don’t you come back after your dad goes to bed? I’m stuck here till close.”
Tempting, if only to stare at him for hours, but she didn’t need to sit in a bar and drink. She needed to comb through all her father’s financial records, while he was sound asleep, and see if she could find anything that might save them both.
“Maybe another night,” she said, handing him her credit card.
He waved his hand. “This one is on me.”
“I can’t let you do that, Boone.” It seemed he was buying her and her dad dinners more and more. She found it sweet the first time. Kind the second. But now it was just getting annoying.
“Your father made me take that damn lawn mower without paying him, so please. Let me do this for you.”
She laughed, shaking her head. “Well, I’m glad he stopped trying to mow the lawn.”
Boone waved his finger. “No. I caught him halfway through. I finished it and then had to cancel the lawn service. I forgot to tell you that.”
Shit. She had to pay for them regardless, and that was the second time her father had done that. Well, at least the lawn mower was gone. “Now I really owe you.”
“If you really want to make it even, teach me how to ride a horse.”